As we have seen, there are varied ways of approaching social networks. Our aim has not been here to cover exhaustively all possible contributions to this literature. Instead, we have tried to single out some of the representative works in each of the fields interested in understanding the shape and role of social networks. By doing so, we can see which are the main virtues of each approach and how they can benefit from each other.
Some of the research presented in this chapter already merge concepts and techniques from different fields. For example, economists and physicists alike are increasingly being aware that sociologists have provided over the years a rich set of tools to analyze the structure of social networks and that they can adopt some of these tools in their modelling choices. Economists have contributed to the literature by enriching the behavior of actors inside the network. Utilitarianism has proved effective in incorporating individual incentives and social preferences that are, arguably, at the
core of social network formation when agents act in a decentralized manner. Finally, physicists and applied mathematicians have tackled issue of complexity of webs with a large number of nodes. Their mathematical tools provide a systematic way of understanding the pattern of giant components in networks and give a neat picture of some of the relevant characteristics of these networks for applied work in other disparate areas such as, for example, medicine or criminology.
We hope and expect that an increasing effort will be devoted in the years to come to build stronger connections between the different approaches. This can only enrich our view and understanding of social networks. It is only through this knowledge that we will be able to adopt more realistic policies and recommendations for practitioners.
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